The invention relates to an autoinjector for administering a settable dose of a fluid product, in particular medication. The autoinjector is preferably designed so that using it, a dose setting and only a single product discharge are possible, and, after the single product discharge, the autoinjector is in a state that prevents an additional product discharge. A product quantity that has not been discharged remains in the autoinjector. Such autoinjectors can be referred to as a single-shot or single-use autoinjector device.
The term “medication” here comprises any free-flowing medicinal formulation that is suitable for controlled administration through a means such as, for example, a cannula or hollow needle, comprising, for example, a liquid, a solution, a gel or a fine suspension, which contains one or more medicinal active substances. A medication can be a composition with a single active ingredient or a premixed or co-formulated composition with several active ingredients from a single container. Medications include drugs such as peptides (for example, insulins, insulin-containing medications, GLP-1-containing as well as derived or analogous preparations), proteins and hormones, biologically obtained or biologically active ingredients, active ingredients based on hormones or genes, nutrient formulations, enzymes, and other substances either in solid (suspended) or fluid form, but also polysaccharides, vaccines, DNA or RNA or oligonucleotides, antibodies or parts of antibodies as well as suitable base, auxiliary and carrier substances.
Autoinjectors are known from the prior art. From EP 2 742 962 A2, an autoinjector according is designed so that it can only completely discharge the product quantity contained in its product container with a single injection.
For certain therapies, it can be necessary to discharge only a certain quantity of the product contained in the product container. One approach would be to fill the product container only with a desired product dose, so that the complete discharge of the product corresponds to the discharge of the desired product dose. However, in that case, for example, in a pharmacy, different autoinjectors with the same drug but different filling quantities of the product container thereof would have to be stored. It is simpler to provide an autoinjector that is filled with a larger product quantity as desired and that is suitable for discharging only some of this product quantity, wherein the autoinjector including the residual quantity of the product remaining in the autoinjector is disposed of.